"You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think."
-Winnie the Pooh
After breakfast, Fred gestured for Scarlett to follow him with a tilt of his head and she quietly obeyed, letting him lead her out to the garden in the backyard. She couldn't help but smile slightly as she saw it. It had been her favorite part of the house as a young kid, especially the little wooden swing attached to the large oak tree at the edge of the yard.
Fred laced his hand through hers as the two of them began wandering around almost aimlessly, both of them quiet and lost in thought, but enjoying having each other around.
"I'm sorry for all that crying last night," Scarlett finally said, glancing at Fred.
"Why?" he asked, looking at her in surprise.
"You know me," she shrugged. "I hate letting people see me cry."
There was a brief pause. "Scarlett," Fred said, stopping in his tracks and reaching over to gently turn her to face him. He cupped her cheek in his hand and gently traced his thumb back and forth over her cheekbone. "You are not a weak person for letting people see you grieving. In fact, I think you're a very strong person."
"Fred, I've been falling apart," she whispered, shaking her head. They had stopped just in front of the swing and Scarlett broke away from Fred's hold to sit down on it. She swung back and forth a bit, lightly dragging her toes along the ground while she stared at the back of Muriel's house.
"If how you've behaved is you falling apart, then that's pretty impressive," Fred said, sticking his hands in his pockets and looking down at her.
"How can you say that?" Scarlett asked.
"What you've gone through is the furthest thing from easy," Fred continued. "And I know you want to push everyone away but you haven't. You came down for breakfast this morning even though it made you a little uncomfortable. That says something. It says you haven't completely given up. And honestly, I don't think I could have handled this like you have. I wouldn't have been ready to be around people this soon either if it were me and I don't think I would have forced myself to be around anyone either. I don't think I could've done what you did this morning."
"It's nothing to admire," Scarlett said. "I don't know what it looks like from the outside, but on the inside…." She closed her eyes and sighed heavily. "I feel as if I'm physically aching. I feel exhausted and all I've done is sit around." She looked back at Fred and just studied his face for a moment. "I feel like I want to be alone, but at the same time, I don't want everyone to worry. I don't want to be like I was before, but I can't help it."
"This is really how you were before?" Fred asked.
"Not exactly. It's worse this time. Before, my mother kept me distracted as much as she could, but things were hard for the both of us. We had people checking up on us a lot and my mother always worried about me, but not herself. And I was the opposite. Worrying about her, but not myself. But now my mother's not here and I'm also older. I have more of an understanding. And besides, my mother was purposely murdered. It wasn't just an uncontrollable car accident this time. Someone actually killed her for no real reason at all. The same with Justin." She sighed. "I don't want to shut people out, but it's like instinct just takes over and I have to just get away from people. You, though….If it looks like I'm strong, it's because of you. I can't shut you out. I don't know why and that kind of scares me, too."
"It's my irresistible charm," Fred answered.
Scarlett actually almost smiled. "I don't know what it is. That's the scary part, like I said. Something about you makes me let my walls down. It's like that isolation instinct doesn't work around you and then that, in turn, makes it easier for me to be around everyone else."
"That's good, isn't it?"
"It is good," Scarlett agreed. "And as far as the crying issue…I've always wanted to look like I had things under control. Like I told you before, my mum was a wreck after my dad died and I felt like I needed to hold it together for her, so I just continued doing that ever since. Holding it together for everyone else and show them that I'm managing when I'm really not."
"But you didn't have to do that," Fred said, crouching down in front of her and pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "You were nine. It wasn't your job to hold it all together. It was expected of you to break down. And just because you're a real adult now doesn't mean you have to hold it together either. Like I said before, breaking down does not mean you're weak. It means you're human. I don't think you're weak at all. I can't stress it enough, Scar, you're a strong person. You're actually dealing with this a lot better than some people would. And you're trying to let us in to help you, which is great and I really am so proud of you."
"Everyone's been saying that to me lately," she whispered. "That I'm strong, I mean. But the thing is that I don't feel strong at all."
"Well, you are." Fred smiled and stood up, moving around to the back of the swing. Scarlett lifted up her feet slightly and let Fred begin pushing her.
"Fred, can I ask you something?" She chewed on her lip as she watched the ground move slowly beneath her.
"Sure, ask me anything."
"I meant to ask last night after I told you what happened, but I forgot. What were the requirements Scabior and Greyback mentioned to my mother? There was one she refused to complete."
"Oh," Fred replied. There was a pause long enough for Scarlett to feel Fred's hands gently push into her back twice. "Umbridge wrote your mother a letter asking her to do all these crazy requirements. If she completed them, she would consider giving you back."
"What were they?"
"One was to write an article for the Prophet praising the Muggleborn Registration Commission. The second was to create wanted ads for Harry and also for the Muggleborns that didn't show up for questioning. The third one—the one your mother didn't want to do—was to write to St. Mungo's in your name, letting them know you were quitting."
"What?" Scarlett asked, her eyes widening. She craned her neck to look over her shoulder at Fred. "That's ridiculous and totally out of nowhere!"
"I know," Fred answered as Scarlett dragged her feet on the ground to stop the swing. Fred moved so that he was standing beside her. He let out a puff of air before reaching up and grabbing the tree branch above his head. He leaned forward as much as his arms would allow and stared at the ground as he continued speaking. "Your mother, Erica and I spent a lot of time together trying to figure out what to do. Eventually, your mum forced herself to meet the first two requirements, but none of us felt comfortable doing the last one. It felt like a betrayal to you. So we tried to figure out other ways to get you back. Believe me, Scar, we did try. So hard." He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face.
Scarlett stood up from the swing and moved to stand right in front of him. She reached out and ran a hand through his hair, skimming the top of his ear and coming to rest on the side of his neck. She could feel his pulse and she rubbed her thumb over the spot affectionately. "It's okay," she whispered. "I'm here now."
"I don't want you to think," Fred began, looking up and meeting her eyes, "that I didn't try, that I didn't care, or that I didn't miss you, because I did with all of my heart."
"Fred, I know. You don't have to—"
"No, I do," he said firmly. "I just want to say it." He lowered his voice and took her face between his hands. "I want you to listen to me very carefully. We all missed you very much and tried so hard to rescue you without making you miserable in the long run, but it was almost impossible. Umbridge is insane and she knew what she was causing when she gave your mother the requirements. She knew she was backing us into a corner. I just felt like I was letting you down by not doing something sooner. I feel like I failed you."
"No," Scarlett whispered, shaking her head. "You didn't let me down. You didn't fail me. I promise, okay? Don't worry about it. There was nothing you could've done. Like you said, Umbridge trapped you. It's her fault, not yours."
Fred took in a shaky breath and nodded his head. "In any case, I don't know where you stand at St. Mungo's. They asked your mother a while back where you were and she told them you intended on coming back, but then things got crazy and nobody's been in contact with them. I hope you haven't lost your job."
"I doubt it," Scarlett said. "A lot of people are on the run, and I bet some of those people are Healers. There's a war. They'll understand. It's not like things have been normal and I just stopped showing up. I'm sure it'll be fine."
"But what if it's not?" Fred asked. "What if you can't work there anymore once this is all over? You love that job more than anything."
"Well, maybe not more than anything," Scarlett said with a curt laugh. "It's a job. Sure, it means a lot to me, but it can be replaced, unlike other things in life."
Fred broke into a smile and kissed her forehead. He dropped his hands to her waist and pulled her in for a hug.
"Muriel did something very odd this morning," Scarlett said after a moment as she snuggled into Fred's chest.
Fred snorted. "That's nothing new."
"I overheard your mother telling her about the vow, and—"
"Oh, Merlin, she probably lost her head," Fred groaned.
Scarlett shrugged. "She wasn't all that bad about it. But then when I went into the kitchen, she began circling me and then—this is the weird bit—she said I was pretty."
"Why is that weird?" Fred asked slowly, pulling back slightly and giving Scarlett a confused look. "You are pretty."
"But it's Muriel. She complimented me. After she always seemed so angry about the vomit incident."
"Well I guess your beauty charmed even her," Fred smirked.
"But look at me, Fred," Scarlett argued. "I look like I just crawled out of a drain."
Fred laughed, but stopped himself when Scarlett gave him a look. "I've never seen you look better, actually."
"Stop it, Fred."
"Look, Scar, what do you expect? You've had a rough time lately. The circles under your eyes will fade, the redness and the puffiness will go away. Once my mother's through with you, you won't look so underfed anymore. You'll be fine. And I do still think you're pretty for the record. Actually, I think you're cute. Beautiful, even." He grinned.
Scarlett let out a quiet laugh as she hid her face in Fred's chest. "Fred," she groaned.
Fred smiled and pulled away just enough for him to throw one arm around Scarlett's shoulders so they could start walking back towards the house. "Bill brought you some of your things last night. Why don't you go upstairs, clean up, change, fix your hair, do whatever it is you girls do. Sound good?"
Scarlett nodded as she slipped an arm around his waist. "Actually, that does sound good. Fantastic, actually."
"Good," Fred answered as they reached the back door. "You'll look like your old self again in no time. And do you want to know the best part?"
"What's that?"
"You won't turn into a pumpkin at midnight."
"I might after another night of no sleep," Scarlett answered. She attempted a smile, but she hadn't really been cracking a joke and Fred knew it. He actually looked genuinely upset, but he didn't say anything. He walked her back to her room—the one she hadn't spent any time in so far—and stopped at the door. Scarlett twisted the doorknob and began to let herself into the room, but Fred grabbed her arm.
"Hey," he whispered, turning her around. "I actually want to ask you something now."
"Okay," Scarlett said. "Go for it."
"Well…it's a hypothetical question," Fred said.
"Okay," Scarlett repeated slowly, giving him a look of confusion.
"Okay, so…hypothetically, of course, let's just say that there's this guy who hasn't seen his girlfriend for a while. And let's just say that when he finally saw her again, she had a lot to deal with. This hypothetical guy respects that this hypothetical girlfriend is upset and he wants to give her the space she needs, but…he's missed her very much and he really wants to kiss her. How do you think this hypothetical girl will react?"
"Well," Scarlett whispered, "if this hypothetical guy wanted my advice, I'd tell him to do it because even though this hypothetical girl is upset, chances are that she's missed her boyfriend just as much as he's missed her."
Fred smiled and let out a quiet laugh. He glanced down at the floor before meeting Scarlett's eyes. He reached out and gently cupped her cheeks in his hands before leaning closer, causing Scarlett's heart to flutter in anticipation. Finally, their lips met and Scarlett's arms found their way around Fred's neck as he deepened the kiss slightly.
After a moment, Scarlett slowly pulled away and looked up at Fred as she played with the hair on the back of his neck.
"You okay?" he asked.
She nodded. "Mhm. I'm fine. Just because I'm upset doesn't mean I don't want to kiss you."
"Well, you have been denying yourself of other necessities like eating and sleeping, so how was I supposed to know kissing was okay?" Fred teased, smiling at her.
Scarlett rolled her eyes. "You're my boyfriend, Fred, and I've missed you."
"I just didn't know what you were up for," he said, "but on the other hand, I couldn't really stand it anymore. Not being able to kiss you, I mean."
Scarlett half-smiled before leaning up and giving him another quick kiss. He pulled her back for two more before letting go of her.
"I'll see you later?" he asked as Scarlett started to disappear into her room again.
She turned and nodded her head. "Yeah, sure."
"Okay," Fred said with a smile. "I'm going to hold you to that, so you better not flake out on me."
"I won't," Scarlett answered. She gave him a tiny smile of her own before slowly shutting the door. She turned and leaned against it for a second as she looked around the bedroom. She spotted her bag of things lying on the bed and headed over to it, deciding she might as well put away her clothes. As she began unpacking them, she suspected that Erica had probably picked out the clothes and packed them because all of Scarlett's favorites were in there, right down to her favorite pair of jeans with the hole in the knee. The item that Scarlett liked the least, though, was the black dress that sat at the bottom of the bag. It was the last thing in there and Scarlett stared down at it in annoyance. It wasn't that she didn't like the dress, but she would have to wear it to her mother's and Justin's funerals, and that was what she didn't like.
Finally, she pulled out the dress, slipped it onto a hanger and quickly stuck it in the closet. She shut the door just as quickly and took a step back. She didn't want to think about the funerals. It only made her anxious. She didn't even know when they were yet. She suspected she'd find out later, though.
Taking a deep breath, Scarlett shook the thoughts out of her head and picked out a new outfit to wear before heading across the hall to the bathroom. She showered, got dressed, and pulled her hair back into a bun before staring at herself in the mirror. Merlin, she looked awful. She actually looked dead herself. How anyone could stand the sight of her was incredible.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. "Scarlett?" Ginny's voice called. "Are you in there?"
"Yeah, why?" Scarlett asked.
"Lunch is ready," Ginny said. "Are you coming down? Not that you have a choice anyway. Dad's back and he has information. About the—about the funerals."
Scarlett swallowed. Just as she had figured. "Okay," she replied. She took a breath and let it out slowly before crossing the room to the door and opening it. Ginny stood there with a small, hopeful smile on her face.
"Hey," Scarlett said with a miniscule smile of her own.
"How are you?" Ginny asked quietly.
Scarlett folded her arms across her chest and looked at the ceiling. "I'm dealing," she finally said. "Making my way through, you know?"
Ginny nodded and a second later, her lip was trembling and her eyes were filling with tears. "I'm sorry," she said as a tiny sob escaped her. She waved her hand in front of her face. "I know you don't like to discuss it, but—"
"Oh, no, Ginny come here," Scarlett whispered, pulling her friend into a hug. "Shh, don't cry," she whispered comfortingly as a lump formed in her own throat.
"It scares me, you know?" Ginny said as her tears subsided. "It's scary enough to hear about all of the people I don't know dying, but when it's someone I knew…it makes it so much worse. It's like a reminder that it can be anyone."
"I know," Scarlett whispered.
"Did you hear that Luna got taken off the train at Christmas?" Ginny asked, pulling out of the hug and wiping her eyes.
"No," Scarlett answered, looking at Ginny sympathetically. "I haven't heard very much at all in the past seven months."
"Yeah, well, Luna got dragged off the train by the Death Eaters," Ginny explained as the two girls started walking down the hall. "Her father wouldn't print the wanted ads your mother was forced to make. So, they kidnapped Luna to make him behave. I haven't seen or heard from her since."
"I'm sure she's okay," Scarlett said, sounding more confident than she felt. "I mean, they're using her to blackmail her father into behaving, so if they kill her, they can't really get him to do what they want."
"Well, Harry's been captured now anyway, so I don't know what'll happen. And so many people are on the run. Dean's been in hiding for a while, and I haven't been back to school since I came here. Neville's all alone now. He, Luna and I had kind of reformed Dumbledore's Army."
"Just the three of you?"
"Just the three of us. Sometimes other former members would join in, but it was mainly just us. We were leading it. We were writing messages on the walls and pulling all these stunts that got us in a lot of trouble. We stole the sword of Gryffindor from Snape's office and got caught….the punishments now are pretty brutal too. The Cruciatus Curse is used all the time. We all got injured pretty bad at some point, but Neville's the worst right now. He's changed quite a bit. He stands up to people now and everything."
"Good for him," Scarlett answered.
They had reached the dining room and when they walked inside, everyone turned to look at them. Scarlett saw the six faces of Erica and the rest of the Weasleys smiling at her and she blushed. She slipped into a seat between Erica and Fred and stared at her plate, which was already full.
"Erica and I took the liberty of putting that together for you," Fred said with a smile. "It looks pretty impressive if I do say so myself."
"Thanks," Scarlett said, staring down at it.
"So, I have news," Mr. Weasley began as they began eating. Everyone looked up at him expectantly. "Harry, Ron and Hermione are at Shell Cottage. So are Luna and Dean."
"What?" Ginny asked, her eyes widening with surprise and happiness.
"Yeah, they were all being held at Malfoy Manor, but a house elf rescued them last night and brought them to Bill and Fleur's. They're all doing okay."
"That's such a relief," Mrs. Weasley said happily.
"It certainly is," Mr. Weasley agreed. He glanced at Scarlett. "As for the funerals….Unfortunately they're both tomorrow. But Sirius talked to Justin's dad and they're having family and friends meet at a Muggle funeral parlor before heading to the cemetery. So, Scarlett, you'll be able to go from your mother's funeral to the cemetery for the second part of Justin's."
Scarlett let out a dejected sigh and closed her eyes for a second. That was going to be exhausting. "Okay," she finally whispered.
"I know that's not ideal, but there's nothing else we can do. We'll all be going to your mother's funeral with you, of course. As for Justin's…would you rather go alone or do you want someone to go with you?"
"I'll go with her," Fred said immediately.
"So will I," Erica added. "You know, for support, and because Justin was my friend, too."
"It's up to Scarlett," Mrs. Weasley said. "If she'd rather be alone…."
"No," Scarlett said. "They can come. As Erica said, she was friends with Justin too." She glanced at Fred and sent him a grateful smile. She knew he didn't have much of a reason to go to Justin's funeral, but he was going for her. He knew she would need him and she appreciated it.
"Okay, then, I guess it's settled," Mr. Weasley said. "We'll leave here at 9:30 sharp tomorrow morning."
Everyone nodded in agreement and started eating again. Everyone except Scarlett, who stared down at her plate as her stomach churned unpleasantly. Now that things were definite, she was feeling extremely anxious about the following day. She knew that once she got to the funerals, it would take everything she had to not completely lose her composure.
"Scar?" Fred whispered from beside her. "You okay?"
"I—um—yeah, I'm fine," Scarlett replied, shaking her head. She picked up her fork and began moving her food around her plate. All she had to do next was put some in her mouth, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.
"Scar, please eat," Fred said. "You were doing so well. You can't throw it all away now."
"I'm nervous for tomorrow," she whispered. "I'm dreading it, actually. Is that an awful thing to say?"
"No, it's completely understandable," Fred answered, shaking his head. "This is hard for you. Going to these funerals isn't going to be easy by any means. It's okay that you feel like that."
Scarlett moved her food around in her plate a little more as she thought about Fred's answer. She supposed he was right, but it didn't do much to calm her anxiety.
"Can you please eat something now?" Fred asked.
"Fred's right, Scarlett dear," Mrs. Weasley added. "I know it's easy to neglect eating during a time like this, but you haven't eaten properly in a long time and we can't have you getting sick."
Scarlett nodded and ate a small bite of food. Apparently, it was enough to make Mrs. Weasley happy, because she smiled and went back to eating her own food. Fred leaned over to quickly kiss Scarlett's cheek.
"Thank you," he said with a grin.
Scarlett returned the smile, but it was tiny and forced. She hated struggling like this, but she knew that once she got through the funerals, she could focus solely on continuing to heal. The funerals were going to be the toughest part, and truthfully, she was glad Fred was going to both of them with her, because there was no way she could do it alone.
Later that night, Scarlett made her way back to her room from the library, a stack of books in her arms. Now she had plenty of reading material to last her through the night and she would be able to comfortably read them on her bed. Window seats and couches were great, but Scarlett had felt incredibly stiff lately from spending so much time on them. It also didn't help that she had spent seven months lying on the floor of a cramped room in Umbridge's office.
Scarlett kicked the bedroom door closed with her foot and set the books down on her nightstand. Just as she had put on her pajamas and gotten comfortable in her bed, there was a knock on the door.
"Scar, it's me." Fred's voice was quiet on the other side of the door and Scarlett didn't know whether to be happy or annoyed. She was glad he was there, but she also knew why he was there. He knew she wasn't going to be sleeping, so he was going to want to stay up all night with her, which was completely unnecessary.
Sighing, she stood up from the bed and pulled the door open. "Fred, I know what you're doing," she said at once.
"Do you?" Fred asked with a grin as he breezed into her room. He was in a t-shirt and pajama pants and his feet were bare. He looked as if he was ready for bed, but Scarlett knew him too well.
She folded her arms and watched him as he flopped onto her bed and rested his arms behind his head, continuing to smile at her.
"You're planning on staying up with me, aren't you?" she asked.
"I guess you could say that, but I was thinking more along the lines of sleeping in here with you so that you won't be so afraid if you get nightmares."
"But I don't want to have the nightmares at all. That's the thing," Scarlett argued. "You don't understand how terrifying it is to keep seeing the same horrible images over and over. You don't know how it is for me to feel helpless all over again. I don't want to relive any of that or feel those feelings again. Ever."
"I know," Fred said gently, "and maybe you're right in the sense that I haven't technically seen your nightmares, but I have seen you after you had one and that was scary enough."
"I don't want you to see that again," Scarlett told him, shaking her head. "You're worried about me enough as it is. I'm putting you through enough torture already and I don't want to-,"
"Scarlett, stop," Fred said firmly, sitting up and giving her a look. "Don't worry about any of that. I want to stay with you so that's what I'm doing. Now, I'd prefer it if you actually got some sleep, but if you're determined to stay up all night, then I'm staying in here with you. I'm not leaving. And eventually you have to sleep. Maybe not tonight, but eventually. You can't just keep staying awake. It's not going to do anything for you."
"It'll keep the nightmares away."
"Scarlett, you're a Healer. You know how poor sleeping habits can affect you. You can face the nightmares. They'll go away in time. And the sooner you face them, the sooner they'll go away."
Scarlett had half a mind to tell him she could face the nightmares on her own, but something stopped her. She had faced them before and had made it through them even though they were terrifying. But the last time she had had one, Fred had been there and he had been so incredibly wonderful. He had calmed her down quicker than she could calm down on her own. And he did really want to help, so maybe she could allow him to. At least for tonight, because there was no way she was going to allow him to do this all the time.
"Fine," Scarlett said. "You can stay here, but we'll see how things go. I don't want your sleep schedule to be messed up because of me."
"I want you to get better," Fred said, "and sometimes people need help to heal. And that's okay. So, with that being said, get over here." He grinned at her and gestured with a tilt of his head.
Scarlett sighed and uncrossed her arms as she made her way over to the bed. She crawled in next to Fred and pulled the blankets over their legs as Fred lifted his arm and put it over her shoulders. Scarlett leaned against the headboard, crossed her arms again and stared straight ahead
"Comfortable?" Fred asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No," she muttered. She glanced at him and took one look at that beautiful half-smile of his and the look in his eyes that he got when he was trying not to laugh and that was all it took to make her smile as well.
"I'm glad to see you smile like that again," Fred said quietly as Scarlett snuggled against him. "It was a genuine smile. Lately all I've seen are little tiny smiles that aren't really smiles at all."
"Sorry," Scarlett whispered, looking down at her hands.
"Don't be. I understand why, but I just miss seeing you smile and hearing you laugh. You know me, I live for laughter. I hate to see anyone sad, especially George…and you."
"Me? Why?" Scarlett asked, looking up at him.
"Because," Fred shrugged, "you mean a lot to me. It's as simple as that, really."
Scarlett thought back to what she had heard Mrs. Weasley telling Muriel and wondered how much Fred actually did like her. She wanted to ask, but thought better of it, telling herself that it was silly.
"We're both going to be exhausted tomorrow if we stay up all night," she finally said.
"We could always get some sleep. I think you're tired enough where you could fall asleep if you allowed yourself. And if you do wake up from a nightmare, at least you'll have gotten some rest and that's better than none."
Scarlett didn't answer. She knew he was right, and she also knew he had been right earlier when he had said she had to face them sometime. But at the same time, she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep even if she tried.
"Look, I'll even cast a charm over the door so no one will hear if you wake up screaming," Fred added, picking up his wand and giving it a wave.
Scarlett still kept her mouth shut. She didn't know what else to say. Instead, she kept her head on Fred's chest and listened to his beating heart. "How's Binky?" she finally asked, even though it was completely out of the blue.
"He's good," Fred answered. "He's up in my room. I considered bringing him over tonight to say hello, but then remembered the snoring issue."
"I've missed him," Scarlett whispered.
"We'll have to reunite the two of you tomorrow," Fred grinned, playing with Scarlett's hair.
A few minutes of silence went by before Scarlett spoke again. "Fred?"
"Yeah?" He sounded sleepy and Scarlett knew that in a few more minutes he actually would be asleep. So much for staying up with her. It didn't matter, though. Scarlett had plenty of books to read and she had to admit, it would be nice just to have Fred in the room.
"Thank you. Not only for everything you've done so far, but for offering to come to Justin's funeral tomorrow. I know you never exactly liked him."
"I still didn't want him dead," Fred replied sleepily as he stifled a yawn. "Besides, he meant something to you and he also saved your life. If I'm going to pay him respect for anything, it's going to be that."
"I guess he technically saved your life as well, didn't he?" Scarlett asked.
"That's right, he did," Fred answered. "That makes it even better."
Scarlett smiled. "Well, still…thank you."
"Don't mention it," Fred answered as they fell into silence again.
A few minutes later, Scarlett lifted her head to look at Fred's face. She smiled softly when she realized he had fallen asleep. His mouth was slightly open and his breathing was deep and even. Scarlett reached out and carefully ran her fingers through his hair before stretching forward and lightly kissing his jaw. Then, she reached over to her nightstand for a book, cracking it open as she snuggled back against Fred's chest. She focused on his heartbeat again and on the rise and fall of his chest. Together, they became a form of comfort, reassurance and everything Scarlett needed. She needed that comfort and reassurance. She needed patience and kindness and persistence and laughter. She needed Fred, and every beat of his heart told her she still had him.
A/N: So hopefully I'm not dragging things out too much, but I wanted to kind of spend time on Scarlett and Fred's relationship and how he's helping her.
Thanks for reading!